Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2018

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department

Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development

Degree Program

Educational Leadership and Organizational Development, PhD

Committee Chair

Alagaraja, Meera

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Shuck, Brad

Committee Member

Shuck, Brad

Committee Member

Immekus, Jason

Committee Member

Gatto, Keith

Author's Keywords

creativity; cross-functional teams; knowledge sharing and integration; team effectiveness; human resource development

Abstract

Creativity is an important capability for organizations to develop solutions for complex challenges. Cross-functional teams are often used within organizations in the hope of leveraging diverse perspectives to develop creative ideas. However, the process by which cross-functional teams generate new ideas is often elusive in practice and poorly understood in research. A case-study design was used to explore the complex nature of the creative process within a services industry organization, which is an understudied context for creativity. The study focused on the knowledge sharing and knowledge integration processes for cross-functional teams as well as overall team effectiveness. The results of the research suggest cross-functional teams should be formed with explicit focus on the structure of the team. In addition, cross-functional teams need guidance and support by leadership as well as organizational practices to allow team members to integrate their different knowledge and perspectives in order to support the creative process. Recommendations for future research and Human Resource Development

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